Giro d'Italia: Giovanni Visconti claims second stage win

Giovanni Visconti took his second stage win in just four days as Italy's Vincenzo Nibali maintained the overall lead in the Giro d'Italia after stage 17. Mark Cavendish's quest for a fifth stage win in this year's race vanished on the climb up Crosara near the finish but the sprinter remains in possession of the red jersey as leader of the points classification. Visconti, who won on the Galibier on Sunday, attacked on the climb and held off a chasing group containing Nibali to win by 19 seconds. Cavendish picked up four points in intermediate sprints during the stage but his lead over his nearest rival Cadel Evans was cut from six points to four after the Australian finished 10th in Wednesday's stage. Cavendish fought hard to remain in the pack on the short but steep fourth category 5km climb up Crosara, but in the end he was unable to stick to the wheels of the leaders. He was near the front of the peloton until halfway up the climb but when the pace started to pick up he lost ground and was unable to get back in the pack on the descent. Asked if he had any regrets about how stage 17 had gone, Cavendish replied: "No. There was nothing we could have done more. There are those climbs that put sprinters on limit and those climbs that are just too hard and that was one of them today. We knew it was going to be hard but we thought we would try anyway. It was hard, and I cracked on the climb. The guys stayed with me and we went for it until the last bend but, once we were in the second group, no-one was going to help us. It was a deserved win for Giovanni Visconti." Visconti, who clinched his first Grand Tour victory when he won stage 15 in the snow on the Galibier on Sunday, sealed a third-straight success for his Movistar team. The 30-year-old Sicilian launched a perfectly timed attack on the climb and then did a great job to hold off the peloton. Ramunas Navardauskas took second spot in a group sprint, 19 seconds back, with Nibali finishing safely in the pack to stay ahead overall. Nibali leads Australian Cadel Evans by one minute and 26 seconds. The race moves back into the high mountains, starting with a a 20.6km individual uphill time trial on Thursday. Here are the odds at Bet365 for a win in this crucial stage: Vincenzo Nibali - 19/20 Cadel Evans - 4/1 Tanel Kangert - 15/2 Michele Scarponi - 20/1 Ramunas Navardauskas - 22/1